Prone-transpsoas as single-position, circumferential access to the lumbar spine: A brief survey of index cases.

Background Case Description: Prone transposoas (PTP) is a novel approach to the lateral lumbar interbody fusion that harnesses the advantages of minimally invasive surgery with circumferential access to the lumbar spine in a single position. We present the peri-operative course of four index cases of patients having undergone PTP at a single institution.

Outcome: Pre and post-operative spinal imaging with alignment parameters, operative approach, and patient outcome are reviewed for each index case.

Prone Transpsoas Technique for Simultaneous Single-Position Access to the Anterior and Posterior Lumbar Spine.

Background: Effective decompression, arthrodesis, and correction of spinal conditions frequently utilize operative approaches that expose both the anterior and posterior spinal column. Until now, circumferential spinal column access often requires the surgeon to reposition and drape the patient multiple times or utilize a posterior only approach that has limited anterior correction capability or to utilize a lateral-only approach that complicates otherwise traditional posterior surgical maneuvers.

Objective: To describe a technique utilizing a single surgical position that enables minimally disruptive anterior column correction with simultaneous access to the posterior spinal column.

Balloon Bridge: Novel Technique for Reaccessing Carotid Artery Stent.

Background: Crossing a nascently deployed carotid artery stent (CAS) is required to perform angioplasty and filter recapture. If the traversing balloon or filter recapture catheters are eccentric or tangentially angled to the vertical axis of the CAS, they can ensnare on the ledge of the proximal CAS step-off, potentially causing life-threatening complications secondary to deformation, displacement, or mechanical occlusion of the stent. We report a novel "balloon bridge" technique that facilitates safe entry and passage across the CAS with both a balloon catheter and a large-bore guide catheter (LBGC).